Math Games for Holiday Gifts
Commercial math/logic games for middle and high school students
- Susan Milner, University of the Fraser Valley
Most of these games have many levels, the highest of which are often challenging even for mathematically-inclined adults. Don’t get fooled by the manufacturers’ suggested age, which is often something like “8+”. That usually means an eight-year-old can follow the instructions and complete the first few puzzles.
|
game |
# to play |
multi- level? |
main features |
made by |
|
1 |
yes |
2D geometry, logic |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D geometry, logic; not only do you have to figure out how to put the snake together, you have to decide which side of each piece to use |
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|
1 |
yes |
sequential reasoning; logic these puzzles go fairly quickly from straightforward to quite tricky |
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|
1 |
yes |
sequential reasoning, 2D spatial reasoning like Rush Hour but with an interesting diagonal grid |
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|
1+ |
no |
beautiful 3D geometry; free-form construction involving strong magnets |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D geometric logic puzzle; bendable pieces make this game unusual |
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|
1 or 2 |
no |
3D geometry involving pentagons & hexagons; magnetic geodesic puzzle with variations
|
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|
1 |
yes |
2D geometry, logic |
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|
1 |
yes |
logic, 2D spatial reasoning; very good for building verbal precision |
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|
1 |
yes |
logic, 2D spatial reasoning, visual clues |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D geometry, pattern recognition; stack coloured shapes to make a given picture; appealing and easily accessible to younger students |
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|
2 |
no |
2D logic, strategy; several versions available; easily accessible |
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|
1 |
yes |
wooden 3D geometric puzzles; make the shapes suggested or create your own |
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|
1 |
yes |
pathways, spatial reasoning; connect gnomes to homes without paths crossing |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D shapes, logic; what makes this “Canadian” is pictures of moose, beavers, raccoons & grizzlies; other versions of the game (Pirates, Safari) are available |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D path, sequential reasoning; this is a variation on peg solitaire |
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|
IQ Circle IQ Blocks |
1 |
no |
2D geometric puzzles; I haven’t seen these sold anywhere in years, but they are very popular whenever I bring them out |
Petoy |
|
1 |
yes |
3D geometric puzzles; these get nicely challenging |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D geometric puzzles; these become surprisingly tricky |
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|
1+ |
yes |
2D logical puzzles, very visual; you can make this a free-form cooperative game for all ages |
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|
Katamino |
1+ |
y |
2D puzzles based on Pentominoes; appealing wooden blocks; lots of levels; very accessible |
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|
1 |
yes |
pathways, spatial reasoning; connect mice to cheese without paths crossing |
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|
1 |
yes |
logic; very good for building precision of speech; you can find age-specific versions at the MindWare site |
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|
1 |
no |
3D spherical puzzle; develops hand-eye coordination as well as spatial reasoning; very appealing |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D geometry, logic; you can change the shape of the pieces, which makes this unusual; the puzzles get hard fairly quickly |
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|
1+ |
yes |
patterns; can played as solitaire, cooperatively, or as a competitive game; easily accessible |
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|
1 |
not really |
3D geometry; very difficult – even the clues that come with it are hard to follow; look for the Youtube video; a similar but more accessible game is Katamino |
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|
2 |
no |
patterns, strategy; you choose your opponent’s next piece, which is unusual; lovely wooden pieces, very tactile |
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|
1+ |
no |
patterns, strategy; fun to play cooperatively (or solo) as well as competitively; feel free to make up your own patterns! |
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|
2+ |
no |
patterns, more strategy involved than with original Qwirkle |
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|
1 |
yes |
order of operations, logic, 2D spatial reasoning |
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|
1 |
yes |
order of operations on a rectangular grid; spatial reasoning very popular |
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|
1+ |
yes |
pattern recognition, logic; a real favourite the original game is competitive, but it can be played cooperatively and solo (see the Set website and my “Set variations”); several versions available, including the original cards, a board game, and on-line |
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|
2+ |
no |
pattern recognition, requires mental rotations and resizing; comes with several variations described by the manufacturer, all involving speed and competition; easily accessible |
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|
1 |
no |
2D geometry, logic, visual; easily accessible |
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|
2+ |
yes |
mental rotation of 2D shapes; can play cooperatively as well as competitively |
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|
1+ |
yes |
2D mapping, logic; several versions available, including solitaire, multi-player, and on-line |
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|
1 |
yes |
3D spatial reasoning, order of operations, visual |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D spatial reasoning; don’t be fooled by the fact that it looks like a toy for toddlers - the puzzles get surprisingly tricky |
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|
1 |
yes |
2D order of operations, logic; this involves pieces that rotate, which is different |
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|
1 |
yes |
geometry, logic gets tricky quite quickly |
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|
1 |
yes |
3D reasoning; easily accessible on-line versions: Brainbashers calls it “Skyscrapers”, while Simon Tatham calls it “Towers” |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
3D tic-tac-toe |
2 |
no |
spatial reasoning; there are various versions, including on-line; much more interesting than the 2D version, as you can keep playing until all the pieces are used up, then count the number of rows of three; outcomes are not easily predicted |
various, or make your own |